China to invest $US 127bn in urban rail projects

CHINA's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced on September 5 that it has approved plans for 25 urban rail projects worth a total of more than Yuan 800bn ($US 127bn).

The list includes the first three lines of the Shijiazhuang metro network, which is expected to account for 30% of all public transport trips in the city by 2020. Line 1 will be 23.9km long with 21 stations and will be completed by 2016 at a cost of Yuan 16.7bn. Construction will begin in 2015 on Line 2, which will be 16.2km-long line with 17 stations. The Yuan 11.5bn project will be completed by 2020. The Yuan 14bn Line 3 will be 19.5km long with 15 stations, and construction will start in 2013 with commissioning scheduled for 2018.

In Suzhou, Line 2 will be extended by 15.6km with 13 stations at a cost of Yuan 9.9bn, while the NDRC has also approved the 11.1km western extension of Line 4..

Hangzhou will add a second line to its metro network at a cost of Yuan 22bn (including rolling stock), while Changchun will start construction soon on the 20.5km, Yuan 12.8bn Line 2, which will be completely underground with 17 stations.

The NDRC has approved Guangzhou Line 7 (18.6km, Yuan 9.5bn), and the Yuan 11bn Chengdu Line 3, which will run underground for 20km with 15 stations. The city will also extend Line 1 to the south at a cost of Yuan 4bn.

Ningbo will extend the east-west Line 1 by 23.5km east to Changjiang Road with eight new stations in a Yuan 7bn investment.

The NDRC has approved Qingdao metro Line 2, which will be 29.7km long with a 27.6km underground section. The Yuan 17.6bn line will have 27 stations, all but one of them underground, and construction is expected to take five years.

The rapid expansion of the Shenzhen metro is set to continue with the construction of the Yuan 25.5bn, 30.3km Line 7 from Nanshan to Luohu, and the 51.7km Line 11, an express line with 17 stations, 13 of which will be underground.

Tianjin will start work on Line 5, a Yuan 25.8bn, 33.6km line with 28 stations which will take four years to build. The 56.1km Line 6, a Yuan 39.8bn project, has also been approved.

Xian has been given the go-ahead to build the 38.4km Metro Line 3 at a cost of Yuan 18bn. The 24-station line will have a 26.7 km underground section and an 11km elevated section.

In addition, the NDRC has approved further urban rail projects in Taiyuan, Lanzhou, and Xiamen.